CC v. Deduno
Go Twins!
CC v. Deduno
Go Twins!
First Pitch - 7:10 p.m. (set your digital watches)
Television - FSN
This late in the season, Time is not on our side. But with just over a week to go, we have a chance to at least play the Bandits and help our bretheren in Baltimore (including the Gentleman Masher) steal the American League East division title away from Evil. Of course, it won't be easy, but nothing is when your team has turned into a bunch of bumbling midgets that have stolen the map of all the holes in the Universe (like the one that sucked our starting rotation right into oblivion this season) and you're on the run from Bud Selig the Supreme Being.
On the hill tonight Liam Hendriks will face off against Andy Pettitte in a classic pairing of rookie non-phenom versus veteran ace. In another time or place I might do a deep and thoughtful performance analysis of the two starters or the two lineups (probability level -99.7%), but honestly, today I feel so mercifully free of the ravages of intelligence that I won't bother. Hell, gents, this thing only ends one way or the other. But it sure would be nice in the waning days of another lost season to have a hand in knocking the boys from the Bronx off their precarious one-game perch and forcing them into the playoffs as a wild card team instead of a division winner. And besides, you can never get enough of puppies this time of year.
Play ball!
Twins (3-8) vs Yankees (6-5)
7:05 PM ET at Yankee Stadium
Jason "Savior" Marquis, RHP 0-0, -.-- ERA vs Hiroki Kuroda, RHP 1-1, 2.63 ERA 5.27 K/9 4.00 FIP 4.68 xFIP
Lineups:
Twins
Yankees
Go Twins!
After Monday night's victory, I was a little concerned that the Mayans were right about this year. Order has been restored, and all is apparently right with the world: The Yankees beat the Twins again tonight.
Despite actually scoring some runs against Sabathia early in the game, both leads they earned were promptly lost by Liriano who continued his struggles. Once Sabathia had a lead he mowed the Twins down like he seems to do every time they face him. I didn't really have my hopes up since, well, it's the Yankees. Add in watching Span & Gardy tossed by an insecure umpire, and it wasn't a terribly fun baseball game.
Win tomorrow and the series win is still in order. With Jason Marquis on the mound I have no fear!
WP: Cap'n Crunch Sabathia (1-0) | LP: Francisco Liriano (0-2)
Josh Willingham: Awesome baseball player.
Greg Gibson: Terrible umpire. Oh wait, that's redundant. Umpire.
once again, sorry, you guys, i wasn't able to keep a solid eye on the game. the small percentage of eye that did see the game is wondering how often the twins of this monday night will show up to other games. pavano pitched a great game (most likely out of spite). the inverted W and W and inverted W boys did great. clete thomas continues to show he is the answer to all twins' problems (and is apparently a great home base coach). also, i've always had irrational hopes for casilla; and if he can keep making plays like this (and maybe hit a little please?), i'll continue to be happy he's on the team.
anyway, please pretend that i thought up an an awesome way to recap these twins actually beating the yankmes, and then comment accordingly. danke sehr.
First Pitch - 6:05 p.m. CDT
Television - FSN, ESPN
Game Notes
Lineups
Scorecard
Oy. Considering the season start we're having, heading to New York City for a four-game series against the Evil Empire just seems sadistic. What, the brain trust that is MLB scheduling couldn't wait a few weeks to add insult to injury? They couldn't wait until May or June to have the Twins demonstrate their futility in the Bronx?
ON THE HILL
Few things tickle me as much as the fact that the Yankees paid Carl Pavano 40 million dollars for less than 150 innings of work over 4 years, and the Twins have wrung 220+ innings out of the guy each of the past two seasons. So at least in the coveted IPP metric (Innings Pitched per Pavano), the Twins continue to outperform the Yankees. While Pavano has been adequate as expected in his first two starts, he's giving up more hits and more runs that any of us would like and would do well to pitch a bit less to contact and a bit more to the catcher's glove.
On the other side of the street, the Yankees send longtime lefty Twins nemesis Freddy Garcia to the mound. The last time I saw Garcia pitch, Jim Lehland was trotting him out against Ozzie Guillens' White Sox in a rainout makeup game that would send the Sox to a game 163 versus the Twins. The last actual time Garcia pitched, just last week, he threw five wild pitches, the first MLB pitcher to pull that off since 1989.
In a universe where karma moves faster than a rebate check from Menards, the Twins would win this game by ten or twelve runs and Pavano would throw a 130-pitch complete game shutout (come on, you just know that a-hole A-Rod would break up the no-hitter with a two-out Texas league dink in the 9th inning). But I'm going on the record as predicting that won't happen today, or any other day for that matter. All I'm asking for out of this series is a split and I'd settle for just one measly win. With Sabathia pitching tomorrow and former Dodger Kuroda on the hill Wednesday, today may be as good a chance as we get this series.
Play ball!
12:05 start.
Diamond Scott versus the Other Al J. Burnett. The Race to the Bottom continues in earnest.
In the all-important Wild Card Race, Boston hosts Bal'more for a day-night double header. The O's offer up Jeremy "Jeremy" Guthrie vs. some dude named Kyle Weiland in the day game, and Brian "the 'tusz" Matusz vs. John Lackey in the nightcap. The Rays have the day off, but trail Boston by only two games after taking three of four in Boston.
Unfortunately for the Rays, they have seven games remaining against the Yanquis and three against Toronto, whereas the Sawks have seven against the O's and three at the Bandbronx to finish.
Over in the N.L., the Giants have won eight straight to close within 4 of the Wild Card leader, Atlanta, and 5 of NL West-leading Arizona. Three of SF's last nine are at Arizona, so they still have a shot. But the Snakes finish the season on a home stand with three vs. Pittsburgh starting on Monday, followed by an off day, then the three-game set with SF and finishing with a three-game series against the Dodgers. The Giants' odds are long. coolstandings.com pegs their playoff odds at just over 5 pct.
Twins record: 55-71
Fangraphs
MLB Game Wrap
Hitter of the Week: Jim Thome
Pitcher of the Week: Anthony Swarzak
Weather: 75 degrees, overcast
Wind: 12 mph, out to RF
Time: 2:44
Attendance: 41,328
Words cannot express my disgust with this game, with the New York Yankees baseball club as an organization, with certain New York Yankees players in particular, and with the run of rotten luck inflicted on the Twins this season.
But this baby can.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfZjg1X6BXk